10 (EXTREMELY) Bold Predictions for WWE in 2018

The top tier of professional wrestling can be a wonderfully bizarre place where anything can happen at any time.

Here at 10 things that I’d love to see from Vince’s kingdom in 2018.

1. THE YOUNG BUCKS COME TO WWE

We definitely did say bold, right?

To my best knowledge, Matt and Nick Jackson signed deals with Ring of Honor and New Japan in 2016 for approximately two years. Those two years look set to be up by December 2018 and surely an offer will be placed by WWE to bring the tag team to WWE.

Despite their income being substantial without WWE’s mainstream audience, there are potential dream matches to be had within WWE’s ring with The New Day and The Revival’s Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder. It’s pretty unlikely, but never say never. I wouldn’t mind seeing The Hardys or The Authors of Pain facing joining a Superkick Party.

2. SAMOA JOE BECOMES WORLD CHAMPION

I think this is a matter of when, not if.

Joe is an experienced veteran who has worked extremely well on RAW since his call-up in early 2017. An old school and bullyish heel, his reign as champion could produce some good feuds whilst the valiant baby faces gain more traction.

3. JOHN CENA PARTIALLY RETIRES

John Cena has been one of the greatest stars WWE has ever produced, without fact.

But Hollywood is such an excellent place for Cena to make money and it seems as though he really enjoys it. Recently starring in the Daddy’s Home series and taking the lead role in animated movie Ferdinand, Cena’s in-ring career could be slowly dying out.

Admittedly, it has dramatically slowed down for Cena this year as he has been featured only a handful of times. However, he was WWE Champion in 2017 and has been champion almost every year for the past 10 but he is now in his 40’s and there is a wealth of talent on RAW and Smackdown. In 2018, we may only get 4 or 5 matches from the 16 time World Champion.

4. WOKEN MATT VS BROTHER NERO

The match that sent the Internet Wrestling Community into overload back in 2016 was The Final Deletion. Featuring Matt in his Broken gimmick facing off against brother Jeff at his own house, the match gained a cult following and really introduced the brothers back into the mainstream wrestling world.

There are plenty of options WWE now have to produce a similar style match with Jeff on the shelf for a while with injury whilst Matt completes his transition into the Woken Warrior.

5. JINDER MAHAL WINS ANOTHER TITLE

Credit: WWE.com

Jinder’s main event push is well and truly over. That much is very well documented. His push finished in December after he was pinned by Triple H in front of a crowd in Delhi, India.

However, as of writing, Jinder is progressing through a United States Championship Tournament and could be in with a good chance of winning the whole thing. This place on the card is much more suited for Mahal and if unsuccessful this time, don’t be surprised if you see him in the mix for a secondary title at some point in 2018.

6. NEVILLE RETURNS AND WINS A TITLE

Neville carried the cruiserweight division for around nine months in 2017, a run that included brilliant matches with Austin Aries and Akira Tozawa.

Sadly, Neville has been off WWE TV for a couple of months now as a debate lingers to his status within the company. If he returns, it would be great to see him be integrated into the main roster rather than back into the Cruiserweight division and potentially have another title run.

During his first run as a babyface, Neville was involved in the Intercontinental title scene and he could be placed back there again if the stars align. This is definitely one of the boldest predictions on this list though.

7. THE NEW DAY SPLIT

This is inevitable as almost every excellent tag team part ways to create new and dynamic stories. Seth Rollins turning on his SHIELD teammates Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns built great stories in 2014 and one of the New Day boys could do the same this year.

Although a marketing machine, their popularity has dwindled in the last year and Xavier Woods turning on his partners Big E and Kofi Kingston would be fun and intriguing.

8. THE MIXED MATCH CHALLENGE LEADS TO MORE MIXED TAG MATCHES

When announced, it seemed as though there was some genuine excitement for this light-hearted tournament to occur. The promos across social media have been brilliantly conducted and generated more hype for the contests. If successful, the tournament could lead to more mixed tag team matches in the future.

Within recent memory, mixed tags have been avoided on WWE television as men facing women is still a grey area for many WWE sponsors but it seems as though the tournament will adhere to the strict men vs men and women vs women rules.

Could new belts be introduced in the future as the roster deepens? It could certainly add more intrigue.

9. THE UK CHAMPIONSHIP GETS A NON-UK CHAMPION

Credit: WWE.com

It happened with the European Championship eventually, and the United States Championship has been held by many foreigners in its coveted history, so why would WWE do anything different with the UK Championship.

Despite expanding into the United Kingdom in 2017, the guys used during that inaugural tournament in January 2017 have been rarely used, aside from Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and the champion Pete Dunne.

A fun, short-term storyline could include a foreign invasion from somebody aiming to take the Bruiserweight’s gold, bringing some interest into the belt.

10. VINCE MCMAHON SELLS MORE SHARES

Vince McMahon has outrightly owned WWE since 1982 and began creating his gigantic titan of a company that has dominated sports entertainment for over 30 years.

At the end of 2017, Vince sold shares as he looked to create funds for Alpha Entertainment, a new venture which could include the recently trademarked XFL.

Despite still holding nearly all shares required to be on the board, expect more stocks to disappear from Vince’s inventory. Paul Levesque (Triple H) is expected to take over the company once Vince steps down and that transition could begin this year as Vince ages well into his 70’s.